Oxford Brookes University Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show they are happy and confident and feel safe at the nursery. They enjoy a wide range of activities and experiences that support their interest and stimulate their learning and development. Staff create a welcoming and child-friendly environment. They have adapted the curriculum well to meet the individual needs of the children and to focus on developing independence, curiosity and active learning. For example, children explore a wide range of sensory materials, such as pasta and chalks. Furthermore, children enjoy exploring with nature in the outside kitchen area and tasting foods from around the world. Children receive a good amount of praise and encouragement from staff, which gives them the confidence and resilience to keep trying.

Staff know the children in their care very well. The key-person system is embedded well in practice, contributing significantly to children's emotional resilience, sense of safety and overall well-being. Staff are positive role models for children and are deployed effectively as children play. They vigilantly remain close to the children and model language effectively, ask questions and meet their needs. Staff know what they want children to learn. They provide good quality engagement and adapt activities to ensure inclusivity for all. Children are continuously engaged and show they are motivated learners.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders have a clear vision of what they want children to learn and develop before they move on from the nursery. All children show they are making good progress in their development from their starting points. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They work closely with parents and external professionals to create plans, and they use funding well to support children's individual needs.
• Leaders and staff work together well to provide children with a language-rich environment. They benefit from local authority initiative training. This has helped them to deliver a curriculum that is focused on supporting children in a range of opportunities to speak, understand and listen. Children of all ages show joy and excitement as they sing familiar songs and enjoy stories together with staff.
• Overall, staff are skilful in their adaptations of activities to maximise learning for the children. For instance, as younger children explore with flowing water, they are supported in their coordination and large physical skills as they transport this to guttering tubes and tables. Older children have many opportunities to be physically active. For example, they enjoy climbing apparatus and ball games, which help them to build their cardiovascular skills. Activities such as building with construction and exploring with media and materials help to build children's small physical skills and muscles for future writing.
• Children respond positively to staff. Younger children smile and excitedly show staff are important to them as they snuggle up and include them in their play. Children are encouraged to complete tasks on their own. For example, older children confidently wash their own cutlery when these are accidently dropped on the floor. Children demonstrate a positive attitude to learning. Many have formed good friendships and enjoy playing alongside each other.
• Children benefit from a well-balanced and nutritious menu at the nursery, which supports their well-being. Mealtimes are social occasions where children sit together, and staff engage children in meaningful conversations about healthy eating, food origins and oral hygiene. While the lunchtime routine is well organised, the breakfast routine in the older children's room lacks the same level of structure.
• Leaders and staff demonstrate a strong understanding of safeguarding requirements. They rigorously implement and maintain policies designed to protect children, including the prohibition of smartwatches and use of mobile phones within the nursery. Regular supervision and training opportunities are offered to the staff. However, while coaching and mentoring systems are in place, they do not yet focus sharply enough on enhancing staff's teaching, reflective practice and overall professional effectiveness.
• Parents speak highly of the exceptional care and support their children receive at the nursery. They consistently report that their children are happy, eager to attend and thrive in the nurturing environment created by staff. Parents feel well informed about their child's development, praising the quality and consistency of verbal feedback provided to them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review snack time to ensure there is a fully consistent approach to promoting children's good health
• strengthen methods of coaching and mentoring to further enhance and build on the quality of staff practice to even higher levels.